Loose Ends & Surprises
by Miss Lavender Sky
Summary: Everyone comes back to live together after the war, at Grimmauld place, and life resumes as normal until George recieves a letter from Fred, who is supposably dead. Post Deathly Hallows. I hope you enjoy it!
1. Settling In

**The Harry Potter Books and characters aren't mine, of course. We all wished they were ours, but unless you're J.K. Rowling, they're not. If you don't recognize the characters, they might be mine (just a few minor ones, like the other house elves). Please read and review! :)**

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Everything was perfect

Everything was perfect. It had been for several months now.

All that was dark was gone. People had moved on from the dead, most of which had been gone for many months now.

Grimmauld Place was safe now, and it was being used long-term.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had returned with Kreacher, and had helped spruce it up 'til it looked like a real house, proper to live in.

Then the people started to come.

Luna and Neville came first, sometime in early April. Soon following them was Lavender, Seamus, Michael, The Patil twins, Anthony, Terry, Hannah, Dean, ad Ginny, all within three days of each other. Then Oliver, Katie, Lee Jordan, George, Alicia, and Angelina appeared a week and a half later. Cho's appearance brought narrowed eyes from Ginny and a nervous smile from Harry.

Many had their homes torn apart by the Death Eaters a few months earlier, and some had simply left home and needed a place to stay. Some, Harry thought, had found out that everyone was getting together and didn't want to be left out. But he didn't mind.

They had only Sirius' room, Regulas' room, the master bedroom, a guest room, a study, and the living room, which all twenty people- twenty-one when Teddy arrived from his grandparents' house- and a house-elf had to share.

Hermione had performed an enlargening charm on every room so that there was enough room for everyone. It reminded Harry of the tents they'd had on the hunt for the Horcruxes. Each room could fit a dozen people easily.

Sirius' bedroom was used as the boys' room- Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, Dean, George, Michael, Anthony, Terry, Oliver, and Lee Jordan had no problem fitting comfortably.

Regulas' room held all eleven girls- Luna, Hermione, Lavender, Ginny, Hannah, Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Padma, Pavarti, and Cho.

The study had become the home for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes workshop. Sounds of bubbling and gurgling and loud noises could be heard from it at anytime of day _or night_, as Harry later found it, usually when no one was in the room.

The living room had been converted into a guest room- they'd already had visits from Charlie, Percy, Aberforth, Mrs. Longhorn, and rather short stays from Slughorn and McGonagall.

The regular guest room had been converted into Ted's room.

No sooner had all of the housemates been told of this plan, than they saw that the eleven heads of the female roommates in a huddle, in obvious discussion.

"What are they doing?" Seamus said, so that only the other ten guys could hear him.

"What they do best," replied Ron. "Talking."

Finally, eleven heads popped up, and Hermione said, "You leave Teddy's room to us."

The girls spent over a week creating the masterpiece that was to be Teddy's room.

At the end of Tuesday, Cho came over to the guys and said, "Come on now; we've just barely finished it."

Taking Teddy with them, the eleven guys jogged up the stairs after her, down the hall, and stopping in front of Teddy's room.

If there was any significance of the exquisitely made brass plate of Teddy's name, it was simply to show the spectacularity of the interior of the room.

The crib was made by hand it seemed, and had a mobile of broomsticks and Snitches floating above it, without being attached to anything.

The ceiling had the same enchantment that the Great Hall at Hogwarts had, except that it only showed perfect weather, with perfect cotton-ball clouds and a bright blue sky, because, as Lavender said, storms are _not_ good for children.

One wall was painted the same perfect sky-blue and had two pegs on it which now held a marvelous miniature broomstick perfectly suited for a small toddler. The wall facing I had a mural of golden stars and Snitches in a night sky. The wall that the crib was pushed against, and the other facing it were filled with enlargened pictures of Lupin and Tonks gazing down adoringly at their son.

"So, he'll know they're watching over him," Hermione said gently.

"And they're the first thing he sees when he wakes up in the morning," added Luna softly.

Even with the masterpiece that was the child's room, the favorite among the housemates had to be the master bedroom.

Hermione was nervous about having to enlarge it so much, but the result seemed truly worth it.

Many, many times bigger than any other room in the entire house, it was Harry's- along with many other's- pride and joy.

It had taken nearly a moth to complete the indoor Quidditch pitch, but it was the most used. It became Teddy's favorite place, beside his room, since it was here that his godfather had first helped him onto his first broom, and Harry could not have been prouder.

There was an attic, which instead of housing a ghoul, held a ghost named Nick the 6th, the great great grandson of the Hogwarts ghost, Nearly-Headless-Nick.

Traveling throughout all the rooms and causing more hilarity than chaos (at least the guys thought so anyway; the girls were more often than not an entirely different story) was Pauley, who acted in ways that would have made his uncle Peeves proud.

Kreacher had been joined by Sauley, Gefforey, and Maleor, three other house-elves from the houses of Seamus, Neville, and Cho.

Life seemed to go rather uneventfully for another three months or so.

Harry and Ginny enjoyed the time they never thought they'd have together, sharing smiles, playing Quidditch, having long conversations as they took turns rocking Teddy to sleep in his room.

Ron and Hermione, however, didn't seem to find an obvious lack of privacy in the house. Several years of secret crushes led them not to care who was watching as they hugged at every meeting, held hands for great lengths, shared secret glances at every meal, and the habitual "good morning," "good day," "good afternoon," "good evening," and "good night" kisses that were altogether more than common. Nor did they seem to mind who heard their long conversations in the hall, usually held in the unfortunate hour of about three o'clock in the morning. It was a pretty good thing they didn't mind, seeing as _everyone_ heard and took turns each night going out in the hall and tell them to "shut up." Usually it was either Neville or Luna who was elected to go, since they always followed their "shut your traps" with a "please" each time. Upon all of these incidents, Ron and Hermione simply laughed and resumed conversation (which more often than not, meant, in short, more kissing).

But there was a surprise in the works.


	2. A Wedding

Thursday evening, everyone was asked to come down for an early dinner and to dress nicely please

Thursday evening, everyone was asked to come down for an early dinner and to dress nicely please. They all came down to see many directions flung around the room by the house-elves and a very excited-looking Alicia and a madly grinning George.

After a very good meal of everyone at the table exchanging rather curious looks, wondering if anyone knew what was going on, people were put out of their misery.

George stood up, with Alicia at his side, smiling nervously.

"Well, you probably want to know what's going on," George said finally.

"Yes; that'd be nice," added Ron.

"Well…" George started, only to be interrupted by his younger sister.

"You're engaged?!" she shouted, catching the sight of a sparkling boulder on Alicia's finger, springing up out of her chair. Everyone followed her glance and gasped.

"Well, that was an easier way to introduce it," said George.

Suddenly, no one was sitting down and congratulating was being done and house-elves were bringing out butterbeer by the case and there was about six different toasts occurring at the same time.

The date was set for August 28, only in five weeks time.

There was so much to get done, in so little time.

As George insisted he wanted nothing fancy, the girls simply shushed him, and Alicia merely shrugged.

Preparations were now underway.

Invitations were gone a week later. Food figured out first. Colors followed. Dresses, dress robes, flowers, and seating arrangements were discussed for hours at a time.

Girls were running around all day, and guys were running _from_ them all day.

The time was approaching fast.

Everyone was set trying to make three new rooms- one for Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, another for Alicia's parents and little sister, and one for George and Alicia after the wedding.

Hermione, already exhausted from the stress of wedding preparations, collapsed into tears when no one believed her when she thought the house might explode from so many enlargement charms put upon it, and only a twenty-minute hug from Ron could calm her down.

When Pauley dropped an entire bowl of punch on Lavender "for fun," her hysterics could only be helped by Seamus.

The day before the wedding, Alicia burst into tears when she thought her parents had decided not to come. She could only be consoled by George, the news that her parents were running a few hours late, and an entire box of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

And once Alicia and George's parents arrived, everyone became frenzied as they realized that there was less than twenty-four hours to go until the wedding.

All fourteen girls in the house rose early to prepare for the wedding.

Since the house didn't have a large backyard, the wedding was being held at the indoor Quidditch pitch in the master bedroom.

The guys had all come down to eat breakfast, and, about an hour later, Ron and Neville were the first to go back up the stairs.

There was a grunt and a thud as Neville was thrown backwards of the second step on the staircase.

"Oi! They've put a shield charm on the whole second floor!" Ron shouted.

Soon, they were surrounded by the guys who had done the unthinkable and abandoned their breakfast.

Suddenly, Hermione's voice filled the air.

"Ronald. I told you what was to happen today! None of you are to come up you before 2:30. Your dress robes are all down there. You have no need to come up here and bother us."

Ron turned red.

"Oh, Hermione! I'd like to say something too!" came the voice of Lavender Brown.

Harry saw Seamus try to sneak out of the room, but Ron caught him and dragged him back.

"No, we all have to go through it!" Ron said.

"Oh, Seamus! Please try and look extra nice today; my mother and father will be there today, and they just _can't_ wait to meet you!" Lavender's voice called, turning Seamus a brighter red than Ron.

Finally, another voice drifted into hearing.

"Neville?" Luna said. "I left your corsage on the kitchen counter. Don't worry about the teeth though. If you pet it, it won't bite you."

Neville blushed at the few sniggers that went up around the room.

There was a long pause, and George whispered, "Let's go, quick, before they start up again!"

They began creeping out of the room, but yet another voice drifted into the room.

"George Weasley!" cried his mother. George stopped midstep. "Make sure you look _extra_ nice today! You _are_ getting married today after all!" Here, Mrs. Weasley began to sob: "Oh, my Georgie's getting married!"

The guys crept out of the room, stifling back laughs, until Ron said at last, "Yes, come on, Georgie, let's get ready now."

George smacked him.

The guys arrived at the foot of the stairs, waiting until 2:31, not wanting to disrupt the voices again.

They went upstairs and waited to see what the girls had done to their beloved Quidditch pitch.

They opened the door to the master bedroom and saw that what they were looking at no longer resembled their old Quidditch pitch remotely.

Streamers hung from blossoming trees all over the place that had amazingly sprung up overnight. They were in rows leading up to a great, ivy-covered gazebo.

Cotton-ball clouds stretched across a blue sky (although really, the weather outside was rather grey and stormy).

Chairs were set up in rows covered in ribbons so that they all looked like oddly shaped May Poles.

The grass was green and perfect, even the spots where Seamus and Terry had accidentally kicked up dirt as they were taking off on their brooms last week.

It looked as if the place had been waiting to hold a wedding ever since it had been built.

It was the perfect scene for a wedding, even George admitted it.

Told to wait here and be very careful, and above everything _not to touch anything_ by the disembodied voice that was Hermione, they all took a seat at one of the large tables that had been set up for the guests.

Then, suddenly, the doors opened softly, and like a dream, they arrived.

Alicia, knowing George would be there, stayed in her room with her mother, sister, and Mrs. Weasley, since he was not to see her until the wedding started.

The guys turned around in their seats and immediately froze.

Lavender, true to her name, had settled on a a light-colored purple dress and had left her long hair down, catching Seamus' attention immediately, to a point where he wouldn't have noticed if you dropped a dragon on the Quidditch pitch near him.

Harry saw Ginny in her sky-blue dress, and kept trying to look away, but found himself failing miserably.

Hermione blushed as Ron stared at her, eyes wide, in her rose-colored floaty dress and strappy heels.

They gawked until Ron, in a very un-Ron-like move, went over and picked a rose-colored flower and walked over to Hermione, placing it in her hair, declaring it a "perfect match."

Music played and dancing started.

Soon guests were arriving and people took their places.

Alicia came in, smiling graciously, down the aisle, and the ceremony commenced, leaving the girls teary-eyed and the guys bored (as most weddings did), until the reception where the girls were picked up and swung around by the guys as they danced.

They danced all night, collapsing into giggles at about three in the morning, watching fireworks go off in the sky.


	3. Engagements & Mysteries

But all of this was nothing in comparison to the excitement two years later, when George and Alicia had their son, a healthy bo

But all of this was nothing in comparison to the excitement two years later, when George and Alicia had their son, a healthy boy named Fred.

The day Fred was born, George and Ron were having a private conversation in Teddy's room (the only private room in the house). Teddy, now three years old, was being taught Quidditch by his many "uncles."

"Listen, Ron," said George, looking rather anxious. "I hope Bill and Charlie and Percy won't be angry about this, but we've picked a godparent for Fred. And it's not on of them."

Ron just looked at his brother.

"Now," said George, looking more serious now. "We want you as the godparent. But we think every kid needs a whole family." George grinned. "So it'd be nice if he had a godmother, too, don't you think?"

George got up and walked out of the room, grinning, knowing that, if there was any hint he'd ever gotten through to his younger brother, it was that one.

"Ron! What's going on? Why are you running?" Hermione asked a few moments later. Stopping his sprint down the hall.

There were tears, smiles, hugs, kisses, and a call down for an early dinner.

Everyone sat down at the table, expecting to hear news on Fred.

But when Hermione and Ron stood up, people began to realize what was going on with them.

"Finally!" Ginny shouted and everyone immediately caught on.

"See?" shouted Seamus, looking directly at Lavender. Everyone turned to look at them. "She doesn't think they're too young!"

"But they've been going out for-" Lavender started.

"For as long as us!" Seamus shouted back.

"But they've probably been thinking about it since-"

"Since I've been trying to give you this!" Seamus had taken out a small box from his jacket and shook it at her.

"But are you sure you want to? I mean, what if I'm not what you wanted?" Lavender asked quietly.

A couple of people glanced nervously at Ron. He was one of about six or seven Hogwarts boyfriends that had ended things with her rather abruptly, leaving her ever doubtful of herself.

"Trust me," Seamus said quietly, smiling. "You're exactly what I want."

Lavender grinned taking the ring out of the box and fingering it. "Aren't you supposed to put it on for me?" she asked him playfully.

Ron and Hermione's wedding was to be in May, in nine months time.

Lavender and Seamus' wedding would take place the following month.

The Saturday following the two engagements, George received a letter by way of a scrawny owl at breakfast.

George opened the letter, which said, quite simply:

_George, come quick. You know where to go._

But even more confusing was the signature. Scribbled out at the bottom of the piece of parchment was the name _Fred._

Everyone at the table was silent.

"I have to go," he said, turning to Alicia.

She nodded.

He looked at Ron and Hermione. "I don't know how long I'll be gone. It could take a while. I don't know if I'll be back in time for the wedding."

They both nodded.

"Okay; it'll be okay," he said, but no one knew if it was to everyone or just simply himself.

There was silence for the rest of the meal.

He left the next day.


	4. Saving the Day

Months passed, and even Christmas seemed dismal without George there to explode the Christmas tree the day after Christmas (alt

Months passed, and even Christmas seemed dismal without George there to explode the Christmas tree the day after Christmas (although Pauley did take up that honor, if a little early, on Christmas, while everyone was still opening up presents).

Every breakfast seemed quieter, everyone secretly anticipating an owl to arrive, with the news that they longed to hear.

Alicia had, in the past few months, taken to sending an owl out every day, saying, simply, "To George," and hoping, somehow, that the owls would find him.

But the birds simply could not find him.

It seemed though, after January, she'd given up. She knew that her husband was dead, and probably already had been for some time now.

Finally, one Tuesday, sometime in February, Ron stood up at the table.

Hermione stood up as well, giving him a stern look. "No, Ron, we talked about this. You _can't_ go," she said.

"Hermione, I _have_ to try," he said calmly.

"Ron!" she said pleadingly, and tears were swimming in her eyes.

"No, I have to!" Ron replied, and stormed off to his room.

Hermione immediately burst into tears and followed him up the stairs.

For the rest of dinner, all that could be heard was their shouts, Hermione's sobs, and the clanging of silverware.

Ron was gone the next morning, and Hermione was silent the rest of the week, hardly daring to go down to eat or to close her eyes for sleep. Then, on Sunday, she came downstairs.

"I'm going."

Everyone looked nervous, not sure whether to stop her or to let her go on, but Alicia nodded.

"Be careful. Please," Ginny said.

Hermione nodded solemnly, and, an instant later, she Disapparated, leaving the others contemplating their decision to let her go.

She had to go and find him. She _had_ to.

After that, the house was quiet. Even the false cheeriness they'd all experienced was gone; people stopped pretending that it was just pretend. It was real; the absence of three of them proved that. The house seemed smaller, though three people had just left it.

Then, one day, the fireplace lit up with a great green flame, and Ron's face appeared.

"Hey, you guys," he said. "Managed to find some Floo powder out here. How is everyone?" he asked a moment later.

There were murmurs of replies, and Harry realized that no one was looking Ron in the eye. They were all nervous, and desperately hoping that he wouldn't ask the inevitable.

"What are you up to now?" asked Harry, trying to fill the awkward silence that had sprung up.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get into the place; it's really complicated magic. So I kind of need to talk to Hermione," Ron replied.

Everyone avoided his gaze.

He looked around the room, suddenly realizing that his fiancée was not in the crowd of faces surrounding the fireplace. "Where is she?" he asked, growing nervous. "Where's Hermione?"

It was Alicia who finally stepped forward. "She left."

Ron's face paled. "Left?"

"She came to find you," said Ginny quietly.

There was silence for a moment, and Ron finally asked the question that everyone had been secretly asking themselves. "Why did you let her go?" he said simply.

It was Alicia, again, who answered him. "Because she wanted to come save you. Who are we to stop her from actually doing something about this? She didn't want to stay home, and…and…"

Ginny was now patting her on the back. "George wouldn't have wanted you to go. He would've wanted you to stay home and take care of Fred, so he can see both of you when he gets back," she said gently, consolingly.

Ron nodded, as if still trying to take in the fact that Hermione had left, said a quiet goodbye to them all, and disappeared from the fireplace.

He spent the next two and a half months trying to figure out the magic that surrounded the cave where Fred and George were. But he simply couldn't do it. He had found out, thus far, that it needs two people _minimum _to break in, so strong was the magic surrounding it.

Then, like an answer to his prayers, a figure appeared in the distance. He walked over to it cautiously before he realized that it was Hermione. He ran towards her and hugged her.

Finally he stepped back and took in her appearance.

She was pale and bedraggled, having practically wandered around for nearly two and a half months now. She had scratches all up and down her arms and one across her face. She was sick and trembling, so Ron immediately had her sit down.

"What happened?" he asked.

"These are dark woods," she replied.

"Okay…is there anymore of an explanation there?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"Anytime you use magic," she said, "you get sicker and weaker and it's just altogether bad for you, and you _have_ to use magic in this place."

Ron took this into consideration. It seemed to fit. He'd only used minor spells so far, not doing anything major until he figured out _how_ to get into the cave. Anytime he'd used anything, he'd had headaches and stuff like that, but he'd always put it down to frustration. Hermione was bound to use harder, more complicated spells, so, from the looks of it, she'd _definitely_ had it much worse than he had.

She got up and looked over to where Ron had been before her arrival. She looked at the engravings on the stone he'd been studying that, no matter how much he tried, Ron could _not_ understand.

He walked over to her. "What does it say?" he asked.

"The spell's very hard," she replied, not even looking up at him. "It takes two to even try it. That's not even including the way this place reacts to magic. Something like this could kill a person…"

Ron looked at her. She did _not_ look fit to try something that could kill. "Come on," he said. You _have_ to rest."

"No!" she said forcefully. "The longer we wait, the harder it is for us to get inside there!"

"You're already sick! If this is that bad, you do _not_ need to be trying this right now!" He was yelling now, his voice echoing off the emptiness of the woods. "You _need_ to rest!"

"No," she said. She paused. "Do you want to see Fred and George again?" Before letting him answer, she added, "Then we have to go now."

"Fine," he replied. "Explain it, then."

"Getting in there won't be nearly as hard as getting out," she replied. "It's so hard…it could…_we_ could…we both might…"

Ron stopped her. He knew the risk. He knew she couldn't say it. He was pretty sure that he couldn't either. "When do we go?" he asked instead.

"Now."

Hermione _had_ been right. It was easy to get in, after that first initial spell. Ron assumed that Hermione had been referring to the spell they'd use to exit when she said that it could kill them.

They walked along tunnel after tunnel, looking for an opening, and, with that opening, Fred and George.


	5. Things Explained

Hours later, they found what they were looking for

Hours later, they found what they were looking for.

The twins immediately jumped up and walked over to them.

"What took you so long?" Fred asked jokingly. "Whoa, what happened?" he asked, seeing Hermione, who was now sitting on the ground and shaking.

"This place tries to kill you," Ron said, "every time you use magic."

The twins took this in.

"So, she…" started George.

"We need to get home soon," Ron finished firmly. "Hermione," he said softly. "Can you help us with the spell?"

She nodded, and with his help, got up. She gave a weak smile. "He4re it goes," she said.

Ron looked at her and realized it. Here she was, walking towards nearly certain death for him and his two brothers. She had no reason to do so. She could have been, she _should_ have been at home, safe and sound, with the others. But she wasn't. She was here, in danger, just to help them. She was walking towards death _for him_.

Well, if she was walking, he'd be right next to her the whole way.

They were holding hands as they all four cast the spell. Amid the noise, there were shouts and yelps, and the sound of crumbling rock.

They collapsed back outside the cave three seconds later.

Fred and George got up and dusted themselves off, slightly shaking. They looked at Ron and Hermione, who were both still holding hands, on the ground, smiling slightly.

"Are they alive?" George asked, his eyes wide and his face white.

"Barely," Fred said, equally as pale.

After hours of waiting, pacing, and cracking half-hearted jokes, the twins were ecstatic to see the two awaken.

"Great! George, they're alive!" Fred shouted.

"Which is more than I can say for the cave," replied George. Now that their worries about their brother and future sister-in-law were over, they took the time to look at the cave that had kept them imprisoned for so long.

The cave, indeed, was gone, only to be replaced with a monumental pile of crumbled rocks that they assumed were once part of the cave.

"There goes our hideout," sighed Fred. "Let's go now. We sh-"

"Your _hideout?"_ Hermione asked incredulously, looking rather indignant.

The twins gave each other nervous glances.

"Well, yeah," said George.

"That's where I was the night of the fight," Fred replied. "Earlier that day, I'd gone there to find a good hiding spot for Ginny to hide-"

"Sure she's have loved that," Ron added.

"So I thought of a spot where no one would find her," Fred replied. "And I thought of the cave."

"One time, right after we learned to Apparate, Mum wanted coffee, and so we were going to test things out and try to Apparate to a café. Only Fred has bit his tounge-" George started.

"No, that was you," cut in Fred.

"'Course not; it was you. Anyway, he said "café," only it sounded like "cave," and that was where we ended up. A cave," said George.

"That cave," added Fred, pointing to the crumbling rocks. He paused. "Anyway, I was trying to get there-" he pointed at the cave again, as if they all needed clarification on _which_ cave exactly- "But there was a Death Eater hiding around in an Invisibility Cloak, and he grabbed on to me just as I was Apparating. He followed me here, took a couple hairs, put up a bunch of spells, and left me here. The night of the _fight_," Fred added, with slight bitterness during the last bit.

"So, whoever died that night was just a Death Eater with Polyjuice Potion?" Hermione asked, as if she was still unsure about Fred's existence.

Fred nodded. "Dunno why he wanted it though. Maybe tryin' to get on the inside. But from what George tells me, he- or I, I guess- was fighting other Death Eaters. Maybe he was just about to turn on you guys. I'm not really sure. Anyway, it was still quite a shock when George informed me that I was dead," he said.

"Shouldn't we be getting' back now?" Ron asked anxiously.

"Yes, ready to get acquainted with Fred?" George asked, turning to Fred.

"Funny that, I feel as if I already know him," Fred replied.

"Your nephew, halfwit," George retorted.

Fred looked like he was torn between hugging George and cracking some joke. "I'll have to teach him all the _good_ Weasley tricks," he said finally, his voice slightly thick. "Gotta raise him right, you know."

"Besides," George said. "These two need to get back on time for their wedding."

Fred looked at Ron in surprise. "You finally asked?" He then turned to Hermione. "And you said yes?" He sighed. "Well, then, I suppose we _do_ need to be getting back. Shame, though; I was really getting attached to this place," he said.

Still laughing, the four of them Disapparated.


	6. Coming Home

When they arrived, they were surprised to see ribbons floating around everywhere on their own, flowers covering every possible

When they arrived, they were surprised to see ribbons floating around everywhere on their own, flowers covering every possible surface, Kreacher and the other house-elves trying to make a towering wedding cake, and Lavender and Ginny in the middle of it, giving out orders to the unfortunate people who happened to walk by them.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, and suddenly everyone stopped.

"You're back!" Alicia shouted, tears swimming in her eyes.

George walked over to her and hugged her, and suddenly, Fred, now nine months old, came waddling over to his father.

Teddy, now nearly four years old, led Fred over to his uncle, his namesake, Fred. "This is Fred. They thought he was dead, but he'd not. He's right here. You should give him a hug. Like this…"

Teddy gave Fred a hug around his leg, and Baby Fred, who had taken to doing everything that Teddy did, followed suit. Everyone laughed, and Fred was trying to blink away a few tears that had sprung up to his eyes.

"You're back," Angelina said, stepping towards him. Fred looked nervous.

"It's about time," she added, grinning, and they hugged for a long, long time, as if to make up for the time they'd lost.

"Sorry to break up the party, but you're not allowed to see the bride the day of the wedding," Lavender cut in, looking at Ron. She glanced at her watch. "And it's six minutes until midnight. Hermione, go with Ginny. We've all worked on your dress; she'll show it to you."

Hermione smiled and nodded, following Ginny up the stairs as if she was floating on a cloud.

After she left, Lavender turned her attention back to Ron. "Your mother was running late, so she'll be here first thing in the morning with the rest of your family," she said.

All at once, Ron, Fred, and George paled, and repeated, "Mum will be here?!"

"Yes, and she says she's bringing your Aunt Muriel, Ron, so be on your best behavior-" Ron turned red. "-She was so nice; she even said she'll let Hermione borrow her tiara for the wedding tomorrow."

"Your mum's gonna go crazy when she sees Fred," Harry said, grinning at the mere thought of it all.

"Yeah, it'll be a lot easier for anyone to have a wedding when Mum's fainted," said George.

"Now's your last chance to have a party before the wedding," Lavender said, not looking up from her clipboard. "All the girls are having one upstairs as well."

And suddenly, everyone disappeared upstairs.

The wedding was to start at two o'clock.

Ron spent the morning trying to avoid his mother; Fred and George did likewise.

Finally, it was time for the wedding.

Harry stood proudly as Best Man, next to Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Neville, and Seamus, who, together, formed Ron's long line of groomsmen. Ginny was grinning from her spot as Maid of Honor, next to Lavender, Luna, Alicia, Angelina, Padma, Pavarti, and Hannah, the bridesmaids. Teddy and Fred, the ring bearers, followed Victore, Bill and Fleur's daughter, the flower girl, down the aisle.

Then, in a flash, with Hermione crying and Ron grinning like a madman, they were officially and finally married.

Everyone was dancing afterwards, with the three little kids running around on the grass.

Suddenly, there was an announcement from the minister, who said he'd never performed so many marriages at one wedding, then introduced the newly married Harry and Ginny, Fred and Angelina, Seamus and Lavender, and Lee Jordan and Katie.

There were cheers all around as people celebrated well into the night, toasting everyone and everything in sight.

A year later, Audrey and Leanne, Lee Jordan and Katie's twins, were born.

Just weeks later, Fred and Angelina's son George was born.

A year later, Lavender and Seamus' twins Phillip and Patrick were born, making them older than Rose, Hermione and Ron's daughter, and Lily, Harry and Ginny's daughter, by just a few months.

All was good in the slightly overcrowded house, with everyone running around, playing, having a good time, with nothing to worry about anymore.


	7. 14 Years Later

14 YEARS LATER 14 YEARS LATER

All the kids were sitting out in the Quidditch pitch one night after all the adults had already gone to sleep.

They were being "watched" by Teddy and Victore, who were kissing non-stop.

Fred, Audrey, Leanne, and George formed a small half-circle, all asking Fred how it felt to be in his last year at Hogwarts (the other three were sixth years), and then leading to Fred and Audrey hugging and kissing and George and Leanne doing likewise.

Phillip, Patrick, Lily, and Rose were all sitting together in a circle under a big oak tree, talking.

"Did you hear there's supposed to be a ball this year?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Great," Phillip groaned. "Now, we've got to find dates."

Rose turned to him. "Who could you ask? I dunno, Phillip; it's not too hard to think, is it?" she asked.

"Hey, Rose, you and I- well, I mean, I'm a guy, and-and, well, you're a girl," started Phillip.

"Oh, very nice, I'm glad you've recognized that," Rose came back with, raising her head to look at him.

"Do you want to go to-"

Patrick and Lily left the two to their bickering- it was a constant thing- and went on their way.

"So…"said Lily. "Do you know who you're taking?"

"I know who I want to take," Patrick replied, smiling.

Everything seemed perfect, and everything, for once _was_ perfect.


End file.
